This blog is a place that showcases the hobby in its many and varied games and products. A haven for those of us who want to see more of what the hobby has available and don't want to have to search though the static to find it.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Dwarven Forge Kickstarter- Your New Dungeon/Sewer Table!

So we've covered urban terrain... but what if you want to do an good, old-school dungeon crawl? Hunting down Necromutants in a Dark Citadel? Searching the sewers and catacombs under Spinespur? Hunting Abominations in the catacombs and undercities of Steampunk Victoria? Maybe you're getting ready to invade the fabled Lair of Medusa in Godslayer? Got a game of Dungeon Ball ready? Then look no further than this new kickstarter from Dwarven Forge.

So, some of you might be hardcore "TTG only" types and might not have heard of Dwarven Forge before. for 17 years they've been supplying the (mostly RPG) tabletop industry with high quality resin pieces. According to Stefan Pokorny, this is simply not cost effective for them anymore, and they needed to find a new material. This new material is something they've nicknamed "Dwarvenite." Okay, campy, but remember we shuffle around soldierdolls, so don't judge. Anyway, it looks like this Dwarvenite is a form of an injection plastic that is molded in a dungeon grey color- very time saving. Literally, you're looking at playability right out of the box, or (if you're like me) a bit of drybrushing first. What's that you say, picking up a brush too much work for you? Don't sweat it, if you want to put down the extra money, you can buy it really nicely prepainted for you.

Normally you've seen our kickstarter support has been for projects that needed a bit of a push. Well, this one funded and blew through all its original stretch goals in three days. Can't a brother take a break for a weekend without bein' behind in the news around here??? So, quite frankly, they don't need our endorsement. Doesn't surprise me, like I said, just about everyone has heard of Dwarven Forge before. Let's take a look at what this means for you as a consumer.
[One quick word about the images.... they're not including the strecth goals unlocked. For every kit you buy, you get an additional 2 diagonal wall sections, 6 open floor sections, 8 straight wall sections, 2 corner wall sections, and a door. I've incorporated those numbers into the totals I've discussed below, which is why if you count the tiles in the image the math won't add up quite right.]

The One-kit Pony Sure, you can pledge $25 to receive a free bag... but the reason you're here is for stonework, not canvas. That means a pledge of $65 to really get in the door. That gets you one kit: 14 straight wall sections, 12 open floor sections, 6 corner sections, and 2 working doors. With each piece being 2"x2" that's not a bad bit of covering. You could make the floor work for a pretty nice building on your tabletop with that. But really.... that's not where we'd want to be on this one. If you want to hit the sweet spot, you gotta dig a little deeper.

Open the Gates!
The $120 bid is where it's at. Why? Because that's the level you get all the unlocked stretch goals at, in addition to two kits. That means 4 diagonal wall sections, 44 straight wall sections, 36 open floor sections, 16 corner sections, and 5 working doors. That means for $120 you're looking at effectively a 2'x2' table of dungeons, with very little gap. If you make more corridors you could probably cover most of a 4'x4' table with understandable gap.

For just a little bit more
$175 gets your three kits, plus the stretch goals. 6 diagonal wall sections, 66 straight wall sections,
54 open floor sections, 24 corner sections, and 9 working doors. That more than completely covers a 2'x2' table, and will with reasonable tunnels allow for most of a 4'x4' to be utilized.

Why So Serious? Of course, if you really want to make a dungeon that will scare the paint off your soldierdolls and get you the best bang for the money, the $260 pledge gets you 5 sets plus all the unlocked goodies- 10 diagonal walls, 110 straight wall sections, 90 open floor sections, 40 corner sections, and 15 doors. That's a 3'x3' table with almost no gap at all, a 4'x4' (standard skirmish) table with a little gap, and honestly enough units to allow a 4'x6' table to be covered with enough tunnels.

So, this kickstarter isn't for everybody. But if you're looking for a solid medieval flair for your soldierdoll terrain, or have "other hobbies" for which this could be beneficial, this is a great kickstarter for getting your table covered. See you in the sewers....